A Twist in Fate
by Bluestar4ever
Summary: Even fate can be changed; there just has to be enough willpower to change it. Rue gets saved. The Hunger Games continue. Requested by MKStanley to write this.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all, I want to say that this story isn't my idea. It is MKStanley's, and they deserve credit for this. **

**This starts when Katniss hears Rue's cry for help. I'll leave it at that. **

I'm running blindly through the forest, trees blurring past me. I'm using full speed, as fast as my legs can take me. My hair flies in my face, but I don't bother to push it away. Rue's in trouble. She's my ally. And I have to protect her.

I reach the place where Rue's trapped. There's a net over her, and a boy- he's from District 1- stands, ready to shoot a spear. Horror at what he's about to do strikes me. I quickly grab one of my arrows and pull it through the string. Rue watches silently as the arrow whizzes by her and strikes the boy's neck before he has a chance to throw his spear. He crumples to the ground and blood stains the grass near him a dark red. I grab his supplies before heading over to where Rue is tangled in the net. Tears well up in the corners of her eyes.

"Hold on, Rue, I'm gonna get you out." I say softly, not loud enough for the TV to hear. My heart's pounding so loud, I'm pretty sure everyone in the arena can hear it. _The tributes! What if there's more?_ I swiftly look around. All I can see are trees. I go back to untangling the net.

Almost as soon as I untangle Rue, the canon shoots for the boy tribute of District 1. The hovercraft comes by and the body gets picked off the ground and flies away. Rue sits silently next to me watching the whole scene.

"Thank you," she whispers. I peer at her, the tears in her eyes gone.

"Of course," I answer, "we're allies. We're supposed to protect each other." Rue gives me a small smile and I stand up.

"Is the Career's food destroyed?" Rue asks.

"Yep." I answer.

"What happened to you ear?" she gasps. On instinct, I touch it and wince.

"It got hurt in the explosion. It bled a lot but it stopped now."

Suddenly, a silver parachute floats down from the sky and Rue catches it. She looks at me. "A sponsor!" she says excitedly. Rue opens the box and there's a loaf of bread with seeds inside. "District Eleven bread!" she tells me. I recognize it too.

We take small bites of the bread, wanting to save it for other days. I head down to the stream again with Rue behind me. I stop at the bank and get my arrows ready for when a fish comes by. An unsuspecting fish swims past me and I shoot it immediately. Another one comes and I shoot that one too. After I'm done with that, Rue and I fill up our water bottles.

"Here, I already ate some." I say to Rue. She takes them and eats them quickly. We're not risking a fire; the Careers probably figured out that their food guard is dead. Plus, Cato is already out for me.

"Let's see what the boy had." I say and Rue comes over beside me as I examine the items. "We've got knives, two spare spearheads, a flashlight, a leather pouch, a first-aid kit, a bottle of water, and a pack of dried fruit…" my voice trails off at the last item.

"What?" Rue asks.

"This boy was with the Careers and they had food." I explain. "And here, he has more food all to himself!" Rue looks at me with disbelief when she understands what I'm saying.

"Maybe the first-aid kit has something for your ear." she suggests. It's a good idea. I look inside.

"No," I say sadly.

"Oh."

It slowly becomes evening. We find a tree and set up our sleeping bags along the branches. The stars rise in the sky as the Capitol shows the boy from District 1. Guilt rises up in me. I killed this innocent tribute. But I had to for Rue.

"We forgot about Foxface this morning." I say. Rue glances at me, confused. I remember that I came up with the name. "The girl with the red hair," I tell her, "I named her Foxface." Rue laughs a little at my nickname.

"I know her. We better be careful to watch out for her." Rue says tiredly.

"Yeah, goodnight Rue." A yawn escapes me and I realize how tired I am.

"Goodnight Katniss."

**Tell me what you think! Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I had really busy the weeks after winter break and then I was studying for midterms and somewhere between _that_, I was sick. Also I spent a weekend with my club at school and didn't have anytime to do anything! So, I apologize again for that.**

**brigove and Jits, thanks for reviewing! **

**GunRecon11- Okay, you're saying I broke reality to save Rue, but technically I'm not. This is _fanfiction_. I don't see what you're so mad about. The rebellion doesn't even have anything to do with this! Most likely it would've taken place even if Rue never died. **

The next dawn rises, the sky painted a light pink. I shift slightly in my branch and look at the sun's position. It's pretty low so I'm guessing it's about seven. We can't stay here. We have to get moving as soon as possible.

"Rue," I turn to her sleeping figure in the branch across from mine. "Wake up,"

She stirs and groggily rubs the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Probably about seven." I answer. "We have to keep moving."

About half an hour later, we start walking. I don't know where, just somewhere where the Careers hopefully won't find us. We eat the rest of the bread since its hardened and wasn't as fresh. But it was still good.

"Isn't the male tribute's from your District name Peeta?" Rue asks after a while.

"Yes, he was with the Careers before." I haven't thought much about him since I allied up with Rue. I wonder how he's holding up.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but Cato wounded him and I guess he's hiding somewhere."

"He's hurt that bad?"

"I think so. I haven't seen him since I dropped that tracker jacker nest on all of them."

Rue tilts her head thoughtfully. "Maybe we should look for Peeta?"

_He's a threat Katniss!_ The voice in my head practically screams at me. "I don't know," I sigh. "He might be planning on how to kill me."

"Don't say that! I saw you guys before the Games started. And the whole being-in-love show. That wasn't fake." Rue's eyes are full of determination. I've never seen this side of her.

"Maybe. For now, let's head down to a stream. There might be one that we can get to by the afternoon." I say since we need to re-fill our water skins and I can hunt for fish-and maybe teach Rue how to too.

"Focus the spear above the water, but don't let it have a shadow, the fish will sense someone's here and it'll swim away." I instruct, once we get to another stream. We're at the bed and hunting fish. I found out that I could use the boy's spear to hunt them. I didn't exactly _want_ the use it, but using it to hunt is better than killing the tributes.

"Like this?" Rue whispers, holding the spear right above the water's edge, just high enough not to cast a shadow.

"Good," I whisper back. "You'll see a dark figure swim by and when you do, strike through it." We wait patiently for a few moments. I can see Rue's struggling to keep her arm in the position she's held for so long. I can't blame her. That spear's heavy. Heavier than I expected, but then again, I never had much experience with them.

Suddenly, the skinny, dark body of a young trout races by. Rue quickly plunges the spear straight into the water and it strikes through the fish. She picks it up with her other hand and gives it to me. I pull the spear out and lay it on the ground beside me. Rue washes the blood off it while I skin the fish. I'm not going to risk making a fire.

"You were great at hunting the fish," I say, realizing I didn't congratulate her yet. "You're a natural."

Rue blushes and once again, she reminds me of Prim. "Thanks," she says quietly, taking a bite of her trout. We finish quickly and it's about late afternoon. The sun beats down on us, making the water shine. I decide to ask Rue about Thresh, the male tribute for her district.

"What about Thresh?" I ask. Rue turns toward me and her eyes cloud slightly.

"I don't know where he is, he disappeared once the Games started. I knew him before at school but I didn't talk to him much. We talked a bit on the ride to the Capitol. I guess I kind of hoped he would want to be allies." she says sadly. I think of when Foxface ran away from a sound in the bushes across from the Careers' place.

"I think I know where he is." I tell her about Foxface stealing the food. "She heard someone and Peeta's hurt- it's unlikely he would've been there and there was no one else so it was probably Thresh."

Rue nods. "Yes, it was most likely him." My ear starts to throb and I wince. "What's wrong?" Rue asks.

"It's my ear. I'll be okay though." I smile, but that makes it hurt worse. I rise up and Rue stands up with me. "We should keep moving." Rue shoots me a worried look but I wave it away.

About halfway across the river bed, we're staying close to it so I have a sense of direction, a strangled noise rises. I jump and whirl around. There's no one. I take another tentative step. The noise comes again and I realize it's a voice.

"Ow!" I look around again. Still no one.

"Who's there?" I call, but I silently curse myself afterward. What if anyone heard?

"Katniss!" the hoarse voice speaks in a relieved sigh. "Don't take another step! Underneath you!" I look down in the mud and lower my foot as I was about to step forward. It takes me a second to realize I know that voice. I'm completely astounded.

"Peeta?"

**Well, that was longer than the first chapter, I hoped you guys like it. In my other story, Rue's Death, Rue knew Thresh so I put that bit in here. If you wanted to check that story out, please do. :) If you have any ideas for future chapters, don't be afraid to tell me, I love to hear what you think! I'll be updating a lot sooner than I did, don't worry. Also, I'd love to hear feedback on this chapter so please review!**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hai guys :) **

**Overlord- Don't worry, Thresh will definitely be in here!**

I watch the camouflaged figure rise out of the mud. He's caked with it; there's so much, you'd have to take an hour long shower just to get most of it off.

"Hey," Peeta grins, his lips, probably the only part of his body not covered in mud, reveal shiny white teeth that stand out like a bright star in the black sky. "You found me. And Rue." he adds.

"Rue, this is Peeta," I introduce them. "What are you doing in this mud?"

"I got a nasty wound from Cato and I thought I was gonna die, that nobody would find me, so I just decided to lay here and wait for my heart to stop beating." he tells me.

"Well, you're not going to die now, so sit on the bank." I say, trying to figure out how to clean him up. Peeta obeys, and winces slightly when he struggles to take a few steps. He has just enough energy to get there and flops back down on the ground. I'm going to have to find his clothes, take them off, and wash them. The idea makes me shudder a little.

"I can wash his clothes if you like." Rue suggests, reading my mind.

"Yes, thank you, that'd be great." I say, then walk over to Peeta. "We're going to have to prop you up on that boulder." I inform him.

Peeta just grunts as Rue and I struggle to lift him slightly up, and gently rest his back on the boulder. It takes a while to find his jacket, but eventually I do. I unzip it and unbutton his shirt. I give them to Rue, and she starts to wash them. It's his undershirt that the problem. I can't save it, so I cut it off. I toss it on the bank, not sure what to do with it. But that's the least of my worries. Peeta's chest has a long burn across it and a few tracker jacker stings. I fix him up and Rue lays the clothes on various rocks to dry.

I look down at the pale figure sitting against that boulder. He looks feverish so I give him pills I found in the first-aid kit. I realize now that I have to look at his lower body. The thought makes me shudder again and Rue notices.

"What's wrong Katniss?" she asks.

I shake my head a little. "Nothing," I say, trying to be brave. "I just have to look at Peeta's leg and the wound…" I trail off, knowing my rambling isn't helping the situation.

Rue looks at me knowingly. "How about I help him this time? You can wash his clothes and I'll treat his injuries." I feel weak with relief.

"Yeah, good idea," I say and me and Rue switch places. She takes over and hands me his boots, socks, and pants. Then she gasps.

"What is it?" I ask alarmed. I look past her shoulder and see the gash is his leg. It's utterly disgusting. I cover my mouth with my hand, and stagger backwards. Moments later, I cover my nose instead because the smell is absolutely horrifying. I breathe through my mouth. Rue stands there calmly and takes the two water bottles and pours them over his thigh.

She looks back and says, "It's okay, I got it all under control. I was just a little surprised."

I take one look at the pus and blood and try hard not to vomit. I know the cameras are most likely focused on me and I'm not going to let anyone think I'm weak because of one terrible gash.

"Just tell me if you need help." I call over my shoulder and I resume washing Peeta's pants.

"Okay," Rue says and we work in silence.

After a while, Rue gets Peeta's leg fixed up- well, at least the best she could do- and we decided we needed to leave as soon as possible which was right now.

I see a cave not far from here. We should be safe in there if we conceal it well enough. "Peeta, I need you to walk a little bit for me, we need to get somewhere safe." I doubt that Cato knows we found him, but who knows? He could stumble upon us and kill us all.

Peeta groans but obeys me. He rises slowly to his feet and with the help from me and Rue, he starts limping as we make way to the cave. But as we get halfway, he starts to stumble and Rue and I practically carry him the rest of the way. We make it to the cave, lay him gently on the ground, and Rue offers to conceal the cave opening and I try to get some food into Peeta.

"Eat these," I tell him, holding out some of the berries Rue gathered. He shakes his head and I hold them out closer to him, but he turns away. "Peeta, you have to eat. When was the last time you ate something?"

"I don't know." Peeta replies, barely audible. "I don't even remember how many days I've been in the mud."

I sigh inwardly. "Well, at least take these pills again." I take out more pills from the first-aid kit. He takes them and I get him to eat some of the berries but most of it comes back up. I know what Peeta needs now. Medicine from the Capital. He has a bad fever. A really bad fever.

I leave him to rest after I'm sure he'll be alright. I go over to Rue to help her with the cave opening. We leave a tiny circle of light at the top left corner and most of the concealment is leaves, which on that outside look like canopy of some sort, like it was made by the Gamemakers. Rue designed it because she figured the Gamemakers would create something like this like they designed the tracker jackers.

I go out to hunt a little while Rue promised to watch over Peeta in case something was to happen. I find another groosling and a squirrel. I skin them back in the cave and since it's so hot outside, I make a fire easily and cook them. I make the fire a little bit into the forest so if a tribute were to see the smoke, they would be led to this place. I place some twigs along the forest floor opposite from where we're at to ensure us that no one would visit us or even see the cave. After Rue and I eat, Peeta is still sleeping, we sit outside the cave as the moon rises up and the stars shine brightly.

The anthem begins to play, but no one's pictures have been shown which means no one died today. It makes sense because I didn't hear a canon. I was wondering if I might've missed something but I guess I didn't. Rue and I sit in silence, not really sure why we're watching the sky as the anthem plays. Finally it ends and we go back inside.

"I'll sleep on the ground tonight." Rue says; ready to settle down. There are only two sleeping bags and Peeta is in one of them.

"No, you can sleep with me," I say, its cold enough as it is, and we both need the protection of the sleeping bag.

"Okay," Rue looks at me gratefully. With her small figure, we can both fit. Our bodies will also keep us warm.

I've laid down the bag right next to Peeta so we can all be warm although Peeta's body is super hot. There's nothing I can do now to help him. I can only hope that he'll be able to make it through the night. I slide into darkness until a voice from my dreams wakes me up. At least, I think it's from my dreams until I regain consciousness and feel emptiness beside me. A cry that's so familiar that I thought it was my sister.

"Katniss!"

**One day before The Hunger Games movie! I'm so excited to see it even though I'm not going to the midnight premiere because I have school the next day… **

**Please review! They always make me happy! :)**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	4. Chapter 4

"Katniss!"

The shout jolts me awake. I scramble clumsily out of the sleeping bag and hurry over to Rue who was crying my name. She's kneeling next to Peeta who's awake. His pant leg is rolled up and you can see his wound is crawling with infection. It's worse than it was yesterday, if that's even possible. The pus is gone, but the tissue is bright red and you can visibly see the slash Cato made. I'm starting to feel a little light-headed and I think I may see some of the bone but I might be hyperventilating.

"Rue," I murmur because I have absolutely no idea what to say. This picture is just a nightmare.

"This is bad isn't it?" whispers Rue. "I've never dealt with anything this bad before." Neither have I, and I don't think my mother has either. Not that I watch what she does anyway since it makes me sick.

I nod because I can't get any words to come out of my mouth. Peeta has blood poisoning-I know that. And that he needs treatment soon.

"I know I have blood poisoning." Peeta talks for the first time this morning. His voice is raw, another bad factor. Rue looks like she knew already too. Well, no point in keeping it a secret. We need some medicine from the sponsors. But it's expensive. What would it take to get it?

Rue looks at me, like reading my mind, she breaks into a grin. "Star-crossed lovers," she sings out teasingly.

I feel my face warm up. Would a kiss do it? I glance at Peeta to find him grinning too. I look back at Rue again.

"Oh, don't mind me, I won't look." she says.

"Come on, Katniss," Peeta begs.

I sigh inwardly. "Okay," I say. It's just one, simple kiss. How bad could it be? We _are_ supposed to be star-crossed lovers.

I sit down on the ground next to Peeta. Rue turns her back on us and faces the entrance of the cave. I cup his face in my hands, close my eyes, and kiss him. It only lasts a few seconds when I pull back. Peeta smiles, too tired to say anything. He closes his eyes. It's the first time I've kissed someone so I'm not sure how I did. But it must've been good because Rue lets out a squeak of excitement.

"A parachute!"

I rush over and grab the silver box. My heart races while I open it, hoping it's the medicine. But when I do finally manage to open it, all I find is some broth. I sink onto the ground in disappointment and anger.

"Haymitch! I need medicine for Peeta's leg and all you can give me is broth?" I shout at the sky. I know it's stupid, shouting out at open air when any tribute can come find us now, but I can't control my anger at him. He must be sober enough to send me something, but now I stop to really think and I wonder if the medicine costs too much. The Gamemakers must be the only ones who have it.

I sigh out loud this time. It may only be a matter of days until Peeta dies. Rue hugs me comfortingly. We stay in this position for a few minutes until I stand up again to feed Peeta the broth but it turns out he's asleep. I see his chest rise and fall as he breathes. It's not gentle and even though. It's rapid and shallow, but he's asleep. Wait a minute. He closed his eyes just after I kissed him. He should have woken up at my yelling. I don't think he's a heavy sleeper; if he was he probably would've died much earlier in the Games. And he was weak enough to fall asleep right away. If he didn't wake up now, he might never wake up again…

"Peeta!" I yell. Rue jumps at my sudden shouting. "Peeta!" Alarm courses through my body as I stumble over to him. I shake his shoulders as hard as I can, my hands sweaty with panic.

"Katniss!" His eyes flutter open. "Ow!" he winces, and I have to stop shaking him. But I don't, I can't. My mind won't tell my hands to stop shaking him. "Katniss, stop! I'm awake!" His words reach me, my mind finally understanding them. I stop, and my heart is still racing. Rue's by my side now, it seems, magically, putting her arms around me again. Peeta looks up at me with wondering eyes. "Why did you wake me?" he asks.

"Your… you… you were asleep when I was yelling… I had to wake you…" I don't say anything else. It isn't needed.

"I would've waked up later." Peeta says slowly. He winces again. "Why did you shake me so hard?" It's an effort for him to get these words out.

I'd completely forgotten about his leg. My shake probably ran through his whole body. "Sorry," I mutter. "I-I was afraid you weren't going to wake up again." I don't know why I stuttered, it's not like _I_ love him. But then again, I don't want him to _die_.

"It's okay," he whispers, reading my mind. It seems like everyone can read my mind. "I won't die," I feel like he's trying to reassure himself and me. I don't think he believes it. And neither do I.

"Peeta, you are _not_ going to go to sleep. I won't let you. Not now." I try to say firmly but my voice breaks halfway through. It's a nice touch, though, considering the Capital may be filming us right now. Why am I even thinking about the Capital now? I shake my head, trying to clear it, thinking that somehow the Gamemakers are playing with my mind. Can they even do that? I don't want to know.

"What if I want to? You can't stop me," Peeta's voice has a teasing note to it and its barely a whisper.

I look at Rue. She nods understandably. Out of the corner of my eye I see her turn away as I lean down once again to kiss him. His lips are so hot that I jerk back from the burn they gave me. This isn't good. Peeta's already starting to lose consciousness. Standing up, I walk over to the canteens of water. They're almost empty. I take them, uneasiness filling up inside me.

"Rue," I say cautiously.

"What?" There's no need to tell her something's wrong. She's staying calm too.

"I need you to stay here and guard again. I'm going out. I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on Peeta."

"Okay,"

I run out into the open, half expecting Cato or someone to jump out at me. But there isn't anyone here. This gives me a surge of hope. My feet pound silently on the forest floor, with only one thought in my head.

_Water. I need water. _

**Another cliffie? I think it is, lol. It took a little longer than I thought, curse you, writer's block! But, I've got a great idea for the next chapter which may or may not include Thresh? Well, you'll find out. :)**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**

**~Bluestar4ever~**


	5. Chapter 5

**An update? So soon? Yes. :) Unfortunately May is going to be a busy month for me with school projects and family stuff so I'll try my best to update. So without further ado, here's the chapter! **

I run as fast as I can, the trees blurring past my vision. I don't care if I'm out in the open. For once, my main concern isn't about the other tributes.

The stream makes its appearance in just a few minutes. I'm sweating; not just from the run, but also because it's blistering hot. The air feels a little different somehow. Like it was altered by someone or something. I decide to ignore it. I dunk one of the canteens in the water and when it's full, I drink some of it. One part of me is threatening to gulp it down, but the other part knows better. I force myself to take little sips. Vaguely, I recall my mother telling me to drink slowly one time when I was out of breath.

_"Drink slowly Katniss. If you gulp it down, it'll just give you cramps later." _

When I'm done, I refill it again. _Time to get back to Peeta_. I get up, turn around, and there's a sharp, silver edge pointing at my throat. A girl with black hair and a mean look in her eyes is standing behind it.

"Hey, Girl on Fire," Clove's voice is dripping with sarcastic friendliness. "Looks like I found you first. Good thing Cato didn't find you yet. You would've been killed in an instant. Oh, wait, I forgot, I'm killing you too." She pushed her knife a little farther to my throat, putting the slightest pressure to it.

"How-How long were you here?" I croak, trying to talk. But it's hard, with a knife touching your throat. My heart is drumming, and I'm afraid this is the end.

Clove suddenly removes the knife away and grabs my wrists in such a strong grip I think I'm going to lose my blood circulation in a matter of minutes. "I'm sorry, you couldn't talk, my bad." She laughs meanly which angers me and I try to get out of her grip and kick her. Clove dodges easily. "As for your question I saw everything. I've been here for a while. You didn't hear me right? You should pay more attention to where you're at. Always look behind you, your enemies could be anywhere. So where's Lover Boy? Or is he dead?"

This girl is seriously making me mad. "Why would I tell you?" I hissed.

Clove sighs. "No use trying to get an answer out of you. He's probably dead anyways. Cato hit the perfect spot." Clove suddenly brightens which I don't how that's possible since she was already gloating. "You wanted revenge didn't you? That's why you blew up our food! To get revenge! Sorry, it didn't work though. Our sponsors sent us some right after the explosion."

I wonder why Clove is talking to me like this. Why not just kill me when she had the chance?

As if she was reading my mind, she leans over and whispers dangerously, "I'm going to make your death as slow and painful as possible. Of course, Cato would _kill_ me if I did this alone. It's time for your death Girl on Fire." Clove pushes me down forcefully with one hand and pins me down with the other. I struggle to get out of her grip. "Don't be difficult. Cato will be here soon." She raises her head and yells, "Cato, I got her!"

_No! I need to get back to Peeta! _

This thought makes me rise up with full power, throwing Clove off me. Looking around instinctively for my bow and arrows, I realize I never brought them with me. I curse myself for being so stupid. I only have two water bottles as weapons. I can imagine Haymitch roaring with laughter at my stupidity.

Clove blinks, dropping her knife in the process of being thrown away. I look at the knife lying between us. I don't have a weapon. Which means I need Clove's. At the same time, Clove recovers from her shock and realizes her knife is on the ground-and that I'll try to get it.

We both lunge at the same time. Clove's hand flashes out toward the weapon.

"No!" I scream.

In a cat-fight, we battle for the knife. The knife keeps getting thrown farther away from us the more we scramble to it.

"I thought you said you had her!"

I look up. Cato is standing there, arms crossed, looking very, very angry. Clove takes the advantage to get the knife. I take the advantage to run, but Cato grabs my wrists before I can move.

"Not so fast,"

"Ha!" Clove looks up proudly, but then sees Cato. She gulps. "I-I had her but-"

"It doesn't matter! Good job catching her though." He turns his attention to me. "Think you could get away with blowing up our food? Well, you can't. I killed Lover Boy and I can kill you too."

"You…won't…kill…me." I say through gritted teeth. My wrists are starting to hurt.

Cato just laughs. "Oh really? We'll see. Give me the knife, Clove."

Surprise registers on Clove's face. "You said I could kill her!"

"I said _we_ could kill her."

"You killed the boy! I should be able to kill the girl!"

It disgusts me how they're arguing about who's going to kill me. I would run, but Cato still hasn't released his grip on me, which is turning my wrists white.

Suddenly, Clove freezes. She opens her mouth, but no words can come out.

"What's wrong? Is she scaring you?" Cato mocks.

"Shut up Cato! Forget about the girl now, we have to leave. _Now._"

"Why?"

"Turn around!"

"But we'd have to find her again…" Cato's words stop as he turns around.

I look behind me and see a huge figure looming over us. They could only be one person. It's Thresh.

"Leave if you don't want to be killed," he growls. I can't tell if that includes me or not.

Cato swallows and looks nervously at Clove, who, for the first time, has fear in her eyes.

"Um, you know, I think we'll leave now," Cato lets go of my wrists, which have started to turn blue now, and he and Clove start to back away slowly. Clove glares at me.

"This isn't over Girl on Fire." Then, they turn and run.

I sigh in relief, thinking Thresh would go after them. But he doesn't. He looks at me with narrowed eyes.

"Are you going to leave?" I guess his statement included me too.

"Y-yes, just a minute..." I start to walk over to my water bottles, but Thresh stops me.

"No, leave now. Unless you want to be killed." I suddenly know at this point that if anyone's going to kill me, I'd rather have it be Cato and Clove than Thresh.

"I can't!" I cry. "I need those!" I point to the canteens. "Peeta… Rue…" I choke up. I need to get back to him. And I can't risk Rue in the cave by herself.

Thresh stops for moment, puzzled. "Rue? Is she with you? Is she hurt?

The question takes me by surprise. "No, no she's fine. That boy from District One tried to kill her. But I saved her. I saved her." My heart hasn't stopped drumming and it's starting to beat even faster.

Thresh relaxes instantly, but I can tell the part about Rue almost dying unnerves him. "I'll let you go," he decides. "But promise me something first. Promise me that you'll do everything to keep that little girl alive." He looks intently at me.

"I promise," I whisper, not just so he'll let me go. I promise because I couldn't bear to let her die. She reminds me so much of Prim. Prim. Back home, I wonder if she's watching this right now. How many times has she thought I'd die, only to rise up again just by a sliver?

Thresh waves his hand past him. "Go get your canteens. Get back to your place. Don't let those Careers touch her."

I nod, thinking of how lucky I am. I gather the bottles, and I'm about to race away when I hear the murmur.

"Thank you,"

I look back to say something in return, but Thresh is already leaving. I turn back, starting to leave when I see a red flash darting away in the corner of my eye. I halt. That red flash, wavy, like hair… Foxface. The realization strikes me. Yes, Clove was right. Your enemies _could_ be anywhere. She was here, watching. The whole time. That might not mean much, but it does to me. She must've heard everything. Which means she knows Rue's with me. And that Peeta's still alive-and vulnerable.

**I have to say, I think this is my favorite chapter so far. Clove is so fun writing. I know she's mean and everything, but still! I love the mean characters. Okay, maybe not _all_ of them; I hate Snow and Coin! And I love Katniss, Peeta, Rue… oh, just forget it. There's just too many that I like! I'll be writing the next chappy as soon as I can, seeing that I left you guys with yet another cliffie. :)**

**Random, but… If anyone is looking for a good book to read, consider _All But My Life._ It's a memoir about the author, Gerda Weissmann Klein's life during World War ll. I'm reading it for school and I couldn't put it down. Just suggesting it for anyone. :)**

**R&R**

**~Bluestar4ever **


	6. Chapter 6

Turning my back to the lake, I run toward the cave. _Foxface has been hiding this whole time, including when I blew up the Careers' food. I don't _think_ she's killed anyone yet. So she wouldn't be coming here… right?_

I begin processing in my mind which way everyone went off. _Clove and Cato ran away behind Thresh which was west from the lake. Thresh went off towards the east and the cave is south of the lake. Foxface headed off north so…_

The realization hits me that no one has come in my direction. Still, there's a chance that Clove and Cato were watching from the trees. But would they really risk the chance to follow me? I don't know. I won't allow myself to think about it. The roof of the cave starts to make its appearance, and soon, the mouth comes into view.

I burst in, Rue looking up worriedly from her position on the floor. Peeta's lying beside her, sleeping.

"What took so long?"

I kneel down next to her and give her one of the canteens silently. She slowly trickles some water onto Peeta's dry lips.

"I ran into Cato, Clove, and… Thresh." I finally say.

"Thresh?" Rue looks up when she hears his name.

"Yeah. He… He seemed worried about you."

Rue nods. "He was kind of protective of me before the Games. He's more of the independent type though." she stops for a moment. "I'm worried about Peeta. He's been burning up."

I place my left hand to his forehead. She's right. He has a horrible fever. I pour water over where my hand was just moments before. It dries up as quickly as it was put on and I finally realized something that I've been trying to push out of my head, saying to myself over and over again to tell myself that I'm wrong. Peeta is truly in danger. Without the medicine he _will_ die. It's only a matter of time before he does.

"Rue," my voice is quiet, not wanting to wake Peeta up.

"There's nothing we can do to save him," It's not a question. Rue's eyes are filled with tears.

I nod sadly. My eyes are tearing up too. I never really knew him that well; I just know that he loves me. And I hate to see people die innocently. It's not right. This is one of the reasons why I hate the Capitol.

"Could we give him food?" Rue asks.

I shake my head. "It'll just come back up again. He wouldn't be getting any nutrition."

Peeta's body rustles as he awakens. Struggling to sit up, he tries to speak. "How-" He puts his hand to his forehead and almost falls back. Rue catches him before he bangs his head against the stone floor.

"Shh, don't talk," Sharing a glance with Rue, I know what I have to say next. "You have a fever… and it's pretty bad."

Peeta's quiet for several moments. "It's okay," I can tell he's trying to be brave and it's hard for him to get the words out. "I know I'll die without the medicine."

At this, I open my mouth in shock but nothing comes out. Peeta smiles sadly. "I overheard your conversations." He says in a whisper. "It's okay, I accept my fate." His face is beading with sweat. I try to tell him not to talk, but he won't listen. "Katniss, before I die, I want one last kiss."

"Peeta, don't talk like that," I try to persuade him even though we both know its true- that he's going to die. I know I can't refuse to kiss him so I go over to him. Doing exactly what I've done the last two times, we kiss. It's short, since his lips feel as though they're on fire. When I pull away, Peeta looks me straight in the eyes and I can tell there's something he wants to tell me.

"Katniss, come closer," he whispers. I do as he says and crawl closer. "Take me- take me outside."

"What? Peeta, we can't do that!"

"Please, for me?"

I sigh. "Alright," "Rue," I call over my shoulder, "Help me take Peeta outside."

We know why he wants to go outside. The reason why I don't want to is because Peeta wants to be out of the cave when he takes his final breath. And I don't want him to die. When we get him out, he feebly grasps my arm.

"Listen, I don't know how much longer I'm able to go on," Peeta pauses for a few moments. "But I want you to know that I'm glad you and Rue found me. I'd probably be dead sooner. I want you to go on for me. Win. Win for me, your family, everyone who's betting on you. Haymitch always liked you better." I would've laughed at this if this wasn't such a sad moment.

"Peeta," I try to cut him off. But he knows what I was going to say.

"No, he thought you might win. And I think you will too. He always believed in you even if he didn't show it. So show him that he was right."

I swallow, trying to suppress tears. "Okay," I whisper, "I'll try to win."

"Good."

Rue makes her way over to me and Peeta. "I just wanted to say that it was nice meeting you." she says solemnly.

He smiles. "Thank you, it was nice to meet you too." Peeta takes a breath. Gasping, he says, "I'm getting weak now. My leg…"

I panic for a second and my heart wants to burst out of my chest. "Peeta," the name escapes from my lips.

"Katniss, I-I love you." his eyes start to flutter. "Remember to win!" he whispers the last part fiercely. Peeta's eyes close completely. I put a hand on his chest. Taking one last breath, his heart stops beating. I feel nothing from his body. Tears fall soundlessly from my eyes. Rue wipes them and then wipes her own. I'm forced to face the truth. Peeta is dead.

**Please don't kill me! I like Peeta and I have nothing against him but this was necessary for the story. I hated to write this and I'm sorry for all you Peeta fans.**

**By the way, I didn't forget about the feast part. I'm not even sure if I'm going to do a feast. If anyone has an opinion about it, I'd like to know. :)**

**And thanks for all the nice reviews! You guys are the best. =) **

**R&R**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	7. Chapter 7

I can't believe it. He's dead. After everything we went through, Peeta is dead. Rue comes up and hugs me. I barely register in my mind that she's by my side. Tears flow silently from both of us. I would rater stay like this forever, but the hovercraft is going to be picking him up soon.

Peeta looks so peaceful, his eyes closed, his mouth in a thin, fierce line that looks kind of cute. I'd hate to disturb his body.

Wiping my face with my hand, I stand up. "Let's hide behind that bush," I say to Rue. That's the good thing about this arena. There are plenty of places to hide.

"Okay,"

We run over to it and wait patiently. While waiting for the hovercraft, I figure out who's left in the arena. _There's Clove, Cato, and Thresh. Rue and I. And don't forget Foxface… Is that it?_ I don't think there's anyone else. I haven't been watching the sky lately. Then again, I don't think I've heard the canon in a while either. Before I can change my mind, the canon booms. The white hovercraft floats down from the sky, and picks Peeta's lifeless body from the ground. Then it shoots back up into the air and flies away.

"What do we do now?" Rue asks.

I don't know what to say. Should we keep living in the cave? Or should we try to find another place? The cave was our only safe place. I don't think we can risk hiding somewhere else.

"We'll keep living here." I say. Rue casts me a surprised glance. "We don't have anywhere else to go. Tonight, everyone will know that Peeta has died. The Careers may come looking for us. The cave may be our only chance of survival."

We head back to our cave. We still have food and water, which is a relief because I don't want to go out again. I barely got out alive last time. Rue and I work more on covering the entrance of the cave to make it look more natural. Once we finished, we go inside and eat. Unfortunately, we only had enough food for one last meal so tomorrow we'll have to go out. I won't be looking forward to this.

There's a tree behind our cave with a thick branch extending above it. It's nighttime, around when the Capitol plays the anthem and shows who's dead. We're sitting on the branch, hidden in the shadows. I have one arm wrapped around Rue as her head rests on my shoulder. Panem's anthem begins to play. We sit in silence, dreading the next moment.

"Katniss," Rue speaks softly.

"What?" I ask in the same tone.

"There's only one victor in the Games. What if- what if we'll be the only ones left?" I can see tears forming in her eyes.

"No!" I say abruptly. "No, that won't happen. Four other tributes are still here. We don't have to think about it now. There's still time." Even as I say this, I start to doubt myself. I won't let Rue die. Not after I saved her before. But if I promised Peeta to win, and I promised myself I wouldn't let Rue die, what's going to happen?

I gently brush away the tears from her eyes. The anthem stops playing. Then, fireworks shoot off in the sky, and Peeta's face is displayed. It stays presented for a few chilling moments. Then it quietly disappears. Cold silence fills the arena.

I begin to feel unsafe out here. "Rue," I say quietly but firmly. "We have to get down. Now."

She doesn't question it. Silently, she inches her way toward the trunk with me closely following her. Rue hesitates when she gets to the edge of the branch.

"Night goggles," she whispers to me.

"Here," I decided to bring them just in case. Rue puts them on and peers down.

"No one here. It's safe."

Rue hands me back the goggles and while I put them on, she slips down the trunk. I go down after her and land noiselessly on the ground. We race back to our shelter.

"What's going to happen now?" Rue murmurs.

"I don't know," I admit. "Now that Peeta's dead, the Careers will be focusing on me. We'll only have a limited time before they'll be searching for us. It'd be great if we could stay here concealed but we need food. We'll have to leave early tomorrow."

Rue tilts her head to the side, thinking. "Remember the fireballs?" she asks me.

"Of course. That was a while ago though."

"Exactly. I've watched the Games before. The Gamemakers get bored sometimes. We both know what happens then."

I pause before asking, "Do you really think they're going to do something soon?"

"I don't know. Maybe…" she trails off.

"Let's just get some rest." I suggest. "We'll wake up early and figure it out from there."

Rue agrees and we huddle together in our sleeping bags to keep warm. I thought it would be impossible to sleep, but it finally overcomes me.

The thing that wakes me up is the hot air. Even from inside, I can feel the humidity. It's just past dawn and it's already this warm.

Rue's already up. She looks at me. "Ready to go?"

I grab my bow and sheath of arrows. Rue has her backpack. "You have the canteens?"

She nods.

"Okay, let's go."

We carefully slip out of the cave. The air is eerily silent. Not even the mockingjays are singing. After exchanging an uneasy glance with Rue, I venture out.

Nothing stops us. We get to the lake. Rue and I fill our canteens. After we quench our thirst, we sit for a minute. Since there's barely any game in this forest, the only available food is fish.

"Can you gather some berries or nuts?" I ask.

"Sure,"

"Okay, don't go far though," I warn.

"I know Katniss!" Rue smiles and wanders off. In these little ways, she reminds me more and more of Prim. I smile to myself and work on catching fish.

I catch a reasonable amount. Rue left her backpack over by a tree with one of the sleeping bag carriers. I deposit my catch in it and put in the backpack. I'm just about to stand up when I hear Rue's shrill shout.

"Katniss! Duck!"

I duck just in time when a knife impales itself in the trunk just above where I was standing.

**Hello! School's out for me so hopefully that means more updates! Yay! I have a question for everyone: Who's your favorite tribute that's left here? If you don't have a favorite, then who's your least favorite? Tell me in a review!**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	8. Chapter 8

I already know who threw the knife. Behind me I hear Clove swearing. I spin around so I don't get any more surprise attacks, but not before I grab the knife out of the bark, hooking it onto my belt. Unfortunately Cato is also here.

"If that little girl hadn't screamed out her name, I would've killed her!" Clove complains to Cato.

"Be quiet!" he snaps. "It doesn't matter. We'll kill her and the little girl. That big guy isn't here to stop us now."

I want to run away while they're arguing but I know I can't. I'm sure Clove has more knives and Cato has a spear. I look at Rue who's standing helplessly and scared at the side. All she has is berries, no weapon. I can't see her killing anybody anyways.

"…and I'll get her," Cato was saying. I hadn't noticed they were still talking.

"No!" Clove wields another knife. "We'll both kill her; that was the deal!"

To my horror, she aims it at Rue. I try to release an arrow to counteract it, but Rue dodges to the right, bringing her a little bit closer to me. She does that repeatedly, distracting both tributes and angering them as Clove tries to throw another knife. She hesitates and I'm starting to think that might be her last one. Within no time, Rue is by my side, still holding the berries.

"Nightlock," she whispers.

My eyes glance swiftly at her palm then back up. The deadly berries that I know can kill you are in her hand.

"Good," I breathe. "Put them away, I'll distract them."

Rue does as I say and my attention is back to the Careers. They're whispering fiercely to each other.

"Hey!" I call out. They look up. "I thought you came here to kill me." It might be brash, but I don't know what else to say.

"We did, Girl on Fire," Clove sneers. "And it's so convenient that your little ally is with you too. We'll kill you both."

Suddenly, the nicknames "Girl on Fire" and "little girl" are used so much by these two that I'm really annoyed by them.

"'Girl on Fire' and 'little girl' have names you know!" I retort. "And whatever you do, you won't hurt Rue!" By this time, Rue's done with putting away nightlock.

"Whatever, _Katniss_," Clove spits out my name like its venom in her mouth. She takes a step forward. "But does it matter? You'll both be killed anyways."

I step protectively in front of Rue and stand my ground. "You won't get _anywhere_ near Rue." I warn, my voice nearing a growl.

"We'll see about that," It's Cato who speaks now. "We've wasted enough time, now the real fun will begin."

He lifts up his spear like he's about to throw it, and Rue and I back up. My heart is thundering in my chest, my consciousness becoming opaque, clouding up, not transparent, clear, like it was before. My back brushes against something scratchy. I realize we're trapped by the tree. I see the Careers' triumphant smiles and I know that's what they were waiting for. Why they wasted so much time when they could've killed us on the spot. I can't believe I was so stupid not to realize this sooner. We can't try to escape because without a second thought, they _will_ release their weapons.

"Finally realize that you can't run away now?" Clove's scathing voice interrupts me from my thoughts. "We'll kill you just like we did with Lover Boy."

Before they give me a chance to respond, Cato throws his spear. We duck, and it lands into the wood just above us. I get an arrow ready. It's now or never if we have a chance to survive. Suddenly, Clove shouts in anger and hurls herself towards me. I release the arrow, but she ducks, the arrow grazing her cheek. She pounces on top of me, knocking my knife and bow and arrows aside. I land on my side and we wrestle around on the ground. Cato races over to us. It seems like he forgot about Rue.

"Rue! Get away from here!" I manage a strangled yell.

She starts to climb up the tree, climbing far, where not even Cato would be able to reach her. Meanwhile, Clove has her knees on my shoulders, her feet pinning down my hands. I struggle to get up, but I can't.

"Katniss!" Rue shouts.

"Aw, your little friend is worried about you." Clove taunts me, pulling out her knife. She traces it along my face, as if not knowing where it should strike. Blood drips down her chin onto my face. "Well she shouldn't. I'm going to give you a nice slow death."

"_We_" Cato sneers. "I could care less about your little friend for now. Maybe we'll let you live a few seconds longer so Clove can play with you. Then, we'll strike the killing blow."

I swallow hard. I have to push them away, one or both of them have to die. I can use this time to think.

Clove puts the slightest pressure on the knife, breaking my skin, drawing some blood. I wince, trying to stay composed enough to think.

"That's right…" I don't hear the rest of her words because I realize the knife is right at my side. It's risky, fighting two to one, but it'll have to work. Now I just need to get my hands free.

I think of my options, which aren't too many. I _could _try to head butt her, but it's also risky with her knife. She wouldn't expect it though. It's my only option since I can't think of anything better.

"Almost done," Clove murmurs softly, as if talking to a baby, except for the menacing note in her voice. "Cato, keep an eye on Rue."

"I thought we're both killing her!" Cato whines, which I think is totally out of line for Cato.

"We are! God, haven't you listened to anything I've said? We came here to kill both of them!" Clove snaps.

Cato sighs and mutters something under his breath. Clove stopped cutting the spot; instead she's tracing my face again.

"Clove! She's not in the tree!" Cato growls angrily.

"What?" she glances up, outraged.

_Now or never!_ I lift my head, about to head butt her.

"Clove, watch out!" Cato warns.

His warning comes too late. Clove swirls her head around, right when I smack my head into her neck, causing her to loose her balance and take her hands off my arms. I push her off me with my free hands and grab the knife. The bow's too far away for anyone. I stand up to them, raising the knife to let them know I'll fight.

"Cato! You made me loose her!" Clove yells. Cato just glares at her, not giving her a response.

I know what happened to Rue. She simply hopped into another tree. She'll be safe.

Clove composes herself. "Nice try. That won't be enough to kill us though." She laughs meanly. "You'll go down again."

"No. If someone's going to die, it'll be you two." I say, hoping my voice doesn't betray my body. My heart's still pounding from my near-death experience.

"How? I have a knife and Cato has a spear. Your friend abandoned you. I bet you can't even fight with a knife."

"She didn't abandon me." I say through gritted teeth.

"Really? Then how do you explain her disappearance?" Cato asks.

"Does it matter?" Clove asks, irritation surfing through her voice. "We'll find her eventually. Now, we'll throw our weapons on the count of three. One… Two… Th-"

A canon booms. We freeze.

"Whatever, just throw it. N-"

"Everyone stop for a moment please!" Seneca Crane comes on the speaker. "We have decided to er, _change_ the rules…" There's a muffled sound. Yes, yes I know…" He sounds as if he's a little disappointed. Seneca comes on again, this time more enthusiastic. "Ladies and gentlemen, two tributes can win! I repeat, two tributes can win the Games! Alright, you may continue on, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

I see Clove and Cato's looks of disbelief and I take the chance to grab my bow and run. I can't help but worry about that canon. Who was it for? I run off in the direction of the trees, hoping it wasn't Rue.

**I have a few important announcements. First of all, I'm going on vacation starting the 29th and ending on July 3rd. I know it doesn't seem long, but I just wanted to let you guys know. I'll be working on the next chapter while I'm going there. **

**And second, there's only going to be a few more chapters left. I'm guessing maybe three of four. I'm planning to finish this by the end of July/early August.**

**I love all your reviews! :)**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	9. Chapter 9

I glance behind me, grateful to find that the Careers aren't following me. Of course, that isn't to say that they won't. Once they get over their shock, Rue and I will be in danger. If she's alive.

Running at full speed, I head to the sound of the canon. It's closer than I thought because I see the body after a few moments.

I sag with relief when I see the body. It's not Rue. Instead, it's Foxface. She has nightlock berries crushed in her right hand while her lips are stained purple.

"Katniss!"

Out of nowhere, Rue tackles me into a hug. She's wearing the backpack, which is great because I forgot about it.

"Rue!" I gasp. "I was scared that the canon was you!"

"No, it wasn't me. I was in the trees. Sorry I worried you."

She looks down at Foxface's lifeless body.

"Those must've been the berries I dropped." Rue flits her gaze back up to me. "Not on purpose, they just slipped out of my hand. I guess Foxface thought they were edible…" she lets the words trail off.

A parachute floats down suddenly, its chime ringing out in the silence. I grab it and open it. There's more bread from District 11.

"Why now…?" I murmur, more to myself. I shrug and tell Rue, "Come on, let's climb a tree. They'll be looking for us, you know."

Rue looks at me in awe when I finish telling her how I escaped from Cato and Clove.

"Wow,"

I remember something else suddenly. I don't how I could forget something so important.

"Rue… You heard what Seneca Crane said." It's not a question.

She nods, excitement lighting up her eyes.

"Do you think… we could actually win?" I immediately cringe at what I said. It's too much to hope for.

Rue pauses, thinking thoughtfully.

"Maybe. He _did_ say two could win this year."

Before I can reply, I hear two voices. _Them._

"Katniss, little Rue?" Clove asks in a fake concerned voice.

Rue looks at me with fear. I put a finger to my lips. We flatten ourselves against the tree. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping they'll pass by.

"You were lucky to escape twice. But this time, there won't be anything to stop us! Thanks to the new rule change, we'll win!" Cato announces.

I don't know why they're wasting their breath. Maybe because there's only Thresh left besides us and they don't care about making noise. Suddenly, they stop right at our tree.

"Where are they?" Clove complains.

"I don't know everything!" Cato snaps back. "We'll find them soon enough. We already found the sly one from District Five dead."

They resume walking, not bothering to look up at our direction. I open my eyes. Rue smiles at me, and even though my heart is still thudding with terror, I manage a smile back.

"They won't find us," I assure Rue.

She nods in response.

The sky gets darker. The anthem plays and Foxface's face shows up in the sky, causing me to think about her; and Thresh. She was the sly one; Thresh is the guy everyone is afraid of. I've always felt a sense of curiosity towards them. They've managed to stay away from the crowd and survive for this long. If circumstances were different, I might've even gotten to know them…

Her picture slowly fades away like Peeta's did, the sky fading into blackness. I get the rope from the backpack to wrap around us since we'll be staying in the trees from now on. It's only five of us now. Who knows what'll happen next.

"What do you think will happen next?" Rue asks, voicing my thoughts.

"I don't know," I respond, "But we'll face whatever comes our way."

My words trail off, sinking in. Soon, Rue's steady breathing tells me she's asleep. Shifting slightly into a more comfortable position, I fall into a surprisingly dreamless sleep.

The harsh sunlight wakes us up. I can't be sure of the time anymore; it seems like the Gamemakers are messing with lightness and darkness. All I know is that they want the Games to end quickly-and violently.

We eat the bread that we got, and drink some water. Then we get out of the tree and start to walk on the ground.

"I think we should keep heading this way." I say, "That way we'll be behind the Careers and have the element of surprise if we need to."

"Okay, good idea," Rue replies.

Of course, they might not be walking this way anymore. I just have to hope that I'm right and they're still heading this way.

After a while I hear a fluttering sound. Wings. I draw my bow and an arrow. Steadying the arrow in place, I aim for the bird's heart. I shoot, and the bird falls to the ground.

I go over to it, Rue following. I pull the arrow free, wiping the gore on some leaves nearby, making sure they're not poison ivy or anything of the sort.

"We'll have to eat it raw. There's no point in building a fire. It's too risky. It shouldn't harm us."

I've eaten a squirrel raw before with Gale. His image flashes through my mind for a second, then I shake my head to clear it. The point is, it was fine. Birds shouldn't be any different.

Gulping down the small bird which wasn't enough for both of us, but edging off some of our hunger, we start walking again. Later, the sky begins to darken. I exchange a glance with Rue. This isn't right. They never made the sky so dark this early before.

And then I hear it. Shuffling of… feet? No, it's too much noise for it to be human. I stop short, and Rue hears it too. Whatever this is, I don't think it's from the wild. The noise gets closer. Rue comes closer to me.

"Whatever this is, it's the Gamemakers' way of ending the Games," I mutter.

I'm about to draw my bow when, without warning, a roar cuts through the night, and a huge, sandy colored dog-like thing with unnatural blue eyes jumps out at us. Rue screams, and I try to shoot an arrow at it. The arrow bounces off its fur with a clang as though its fur is metal. The dog-like creature growls ominously. That's when I realize it. These are mutts. And I just take in the sandy fur and blue eyes when I suddenly understand what just happened. The mutt prepares to jump again, and I take Rue's hand and we run for our lives.

**Sorry for the little delay, I was planning on posting this earlier last week, but I had some writer's block… I know this chapter didn't have much action, but this is how it has to be. But the next chapter will have lots of action! There'll only be two more chapters after this.**

**R&R,**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is longer than any of my other chapters; enjoy! :)**

The mutt chases us through the forest, which is black as night. While we're running, I try to process what just happened. It's Peeta; he's running after us, trying to kill us. True, it was dark, I shouldn't be sure its him, but I know what I saw. Its fur is just like Buttercup's yellow fur when he sometimes wakes me up at night with his yowling. And the mutt's eyes. They're so strikingly blue. Just like his. Then I see it. The navy collar around its neck. There's a '12' written in red lettering. It's definitely Peeta.

An emotion that I can't tell flows through me as the Peeta-mutt snaps at my legs, tearing my right pant leg. Rue and I put on a burst of speed. Up ahead, I see a big bulky shape.

"A tree!" Rue shouts.

We scramble up it, the mutt growling behind us, trying to claw its way up, but failing. I just can't believe that this _thing_ would be attacking us like it doesn't know who we are. There's something about those _eyes_ though. They look so much like Peeta's that I think they are…

"They're Peeta's eyes!" I gasp.

"What?" Rue looks at me quizzically.

"The mutations!" I realize the horrible truth. "The Gamemakers must have used the dead tributes' eyes! That's Peeta!"

Rue looks at the mutt's eyes and gasps.

"That's terrible!"

A canon goes off. I instinctively look around, but find nothing.

_Who could that be…?_

Four tributes left. It's not like that matters though. The Games are finishing today.

I hear another growl farther away. It's not from the Peeta-mutt. I already feel sick from the Gamemakers' cruel ideas. I don't want to stick around to find out who it'll be.

"We have to escape from the back of the tree now!" I tell Rue, knowing if we wait around here, we'll never be able to escape.

She nods, from the look in her eyes, I can tell she's terrified. We get down as fast as we can and start running for our lives.

"To the Cornucopia!" I yell.

The second mutt joins the first one and they chase us. The pounding of paws deafen everything else around me, even though they're behind. Suddenly, Rue trips over something and yelps. I rush over to her and help her to her feet. I think she tripped over a log or something until she whispers in horror,

"Thresh?"

I look down, my eyes widening in shock and disgust. Rue's right. It's him. Thresh's body is clawed; all of it. He's a bloody mess, with some parts broken and displaced. His shoulder bones stick out. His face is too horrible to describe.

"Come on!" I grab Rue's arm and lead her away. "He must have tried to escape from them. Do your best to forget about it," I murmur, wanting to comfort her, but knowing I can't. She saw too much to ever forget anything.

"It was horrible. Thresh was my district partner and made it so far. He didn't deserve that. Oh, Katniss, I don't think I can do this anymore." Rue cries.

"Yes you can. Don't think about it. We have to survive." I tell her gently, but with firmness to my voice.

Rue shouldn't have to see this. She's only a young, innocent girl. Once again, it makes me mad that other kids like her have to go through this nightmare.

The mutts draw nearer. One of them surges ahead, trying to cut us off. It's the new one, with slightly darker fur and green eyes with a red collar and black lettering. '5' is written on it. It's Foxface.

We swerve to the left to avoid it and keep running. Finally, we make it to the Cornucopia. I help Rue get on top, the mutts biting my legs, sinking their teeth into them. I grimace with pain, and Rue helps me get up, leaving them snapping at us from below.

A rustle from the bushes indicates a new visitor. A large, black mutt with brownish gold eyes jumps out and joins Peeta and Foxface. Rue trembles beside me, knowing its Thresh from the '11' on its golden collar. Four more others join the three mutts, tributes I don't recognize; until I see one with '10' on the collar. The boy with the bad leg. There's a short mutt with a number '4', one tallish one from 6, and the last one from 9. I shoot one of my arrows at their eyes, taking the one from 6 out.

Suddenly, four figures emerge from the trees, two human, and two more mutts. Clove and Cato scramble onto the Cornucopia as well.

"I'm telling you, they're Glimmer and Marvel!" Clove insists.

When I look down, I realize she's right. I feel a surge of hatred and shoot at the Marvel-mutt. The arrow bounces off its head though, close to its eye. I'm running low on my arrows. Cato whips his head toward us at the sound.

"Clove, shut up!" Cato snaps. "They're here too."

She also turns to us, wielding a knife. Cato takes out his sword.

"Oh, good." she smiles devilishly, "We'll finally kill you. You can't run anymore. The mutts will tear you up."

"Try all you want," I tell them, quickly passing a knife to Rue. She'll at least need to defend herself if it comes to it. "But you won't kill us that easily."

At that, they lunge for us; the mutts barking in excitement, hoping one of us will fall off the edge. To my surprise, they both go for Rue.

"No! You won't hurt her!" I yell, throwing myself in front of Rue, blocking their attacks with my bow.

"But that takes out the fun." Cato says with mock disappointment. "We're saving you for last."

For the first time, I get a good look at them. Their faces are bloody; Clove has a few deep scratches along her cheeks and chin, and Cato is bleeding from his jaw, his forehead slick with scarlet liquid too.

"You are _not_ going to hurt her if it's the last thing I do!" I tell them fiercely.

"We'll see about that." Clove says while Cato lunges at me, grasping my throat in his hand in one fluid motion.

"Katniss!" Rue shrieks.

I squirm in his grip, expecting them to kill Rue on the spot, but they don't.

"Hey Cato… How about letting Rue see Katniss's death?" Clove suggests.

Rue and I stare in horror at each other as Cato replies, "That's a great idea."

I'm starting to choke, sure that my lips are turning blue. I grab the knife I stole and slash one of Cato's arms. He curses, eases his grip on me, and I take that moment to struggle free, breathing hard.

Clove lunges for Rue while we're distracted, putting her in a headlock like Cato did to me. Rue starts to struggle for air, trying to kick her, but Clove doesn't seem the least bit hurt. She moves over to the edge of the Cornucopia.

"She's going down," Clove says, a grin playing on her face. She looks over to Cato. "Can I just kill her first like we originally planned?" she asks impatiently.

Cato turns his attention to her to reply.

_Shoot her now!_

I draw an arrow quickly and aim for Clove's heart. I release it, time seeming to slow down as it flies through the air. It pierces her chest. Clove lets out a bloodcurdling scream and takes a step backwards. She loses her balance and Rue scrambles out of her grasp just in time when Clove falls off the Cornucopia.

"Cato, I-" her words end in another horrible scream. The mutts yelp excitedly, surrounding her body. Sickening crunches fill the air as the smell of fresh blood starts to burn in my nose.

"Oh my God, Clove!" Cato yells, looking down at the mutts, where her mangled body lay.

The second canon goes off. The hovercraft splits up the mutts, collecting Clove's body. Cato turns to me, looking far more terrifying than I've ever seen him.

"You will go _down_ Girl on Fire!" he spits out, raising his sword. "If you make one move to go by your little ally's side, I'll throw this at both of you." he warns, his voice deadly.

"You won't throw it. It's too risky." I say calmly, knowing my voice is equally deadly. I bring out my knife again, my heart beating faster and faster, despite my calm voice seconds ago. "Come on, fight me. This ends _now_."

Cato grins, but it's not one of humor or happiness. The smile is full of hunger for vengeance.

"Prepare for you and your friends to die."

Cato swings his sword, my knife somehow deflecting the blow. We circle around each other. For the first time, I thank Clove for throwing her knife at me. I make my way to Rue, where she could give me her knife. She gives me it. I can fight much better with two against a sword, but I'm still more comfortable with a bow and arrow which won't do me any good right now.

I manage to slash another spot on his forehead, above his eyebrow. Scarlet blood drips down from his new wound, running into his mouth as well. He spits out blood which sprays into my face. I shake my head and blink my eyes to get the blood off. A pool of it starts to well up behind him.

"Good strike," Cato rasps, but he's not praising me. He pauses to spit out more blood. "But you'll have to do better than that."

He swings the sword again, aiming for my arm. I try to dodge it, but he gets a small strike in, from my right elbow down to the middle of my arm. Blood spurts from the wound, but he didn't cut deep enough to expose bone. I retaliate by swinging both knives in a desperate attempt to hit something. Pain sears up arm where Cato struck it and I'm forced to drop the knife. Cato steps back and slips on the puddle of blood. The smell is getting worse by the second. From the corner of my eye, I see Rue retch for a moment. I corner him, pressing my knife against his throat, breathing heavily, heart pounding.

"You think you can kill me that easily, huh?" Cato rasps. "You're the one Clove and I have wanted to kill since day one. That score you got? I don't how you managed to get higher than me. At least Lover Boy got what he deserved. But that's not the point. You dropped the tracker jacker nest on us. You blew up our food and you killed Glimmer and Marvel."

"I did what I needed to do." I say with gritted teeth.

Cato just smiles. Suddenly he grabs the knife and throws himself up, pushing me to the ground. He grabs Rue and points the knife to her throat with one arm and grips her neck with the other. A horrified looks fills her eyes. Cato moves to the middle of the Cornucopia, dragging Rue with him.

"I don't care anymore." he says, completely throwing me off guard. "There's only supposed to be one victor. Those were the original rules. Kill us both. Then you'll win. Just you."

"No." I say. "I'll die before I kill both of you."

Cato laughs. "Then there wouldn't be a victor, would there?" He grips Rue tighter, making her gasp for air.

"Why are you so eager to die now?" I accuse questioningly. Then it dawns on me. "You want to be with Clove?"

His face shows nothing. "We're not the lovebirds of District Twelve. Not anything close. But we deserve to be together. We were supposed to win. Just finish us off."

As if they're agreeing, the mutts give short yelps. Cato moves again, to the edge like Clove did. Rue's lips are turning blue now. She doesn't have much time.

A surge of different emotions bubble up inside me.

"No. Rue and I will win these Games."

I load my last arrow and take the shot, knowing what I'm aiming for. I don't hesitate. The arrow lodges itself in Cato's hand. He crumples to the floor, not falling off. Rue escapes his grasp while I go up to him.

"I'm not dead yet," he says, blood staining his teeth red. The arm that doesn't have to arrow in it is dangling off the edge. "Knock me off the side." Cato glances up at me, pain and a look that I think is pleading is in his eyes.

Before I can react, a new mutt appears, racing from the trees. All I can see are two light brown eyes and a collar with a silver '2' on it; Clove in mutt form. It glares at me, hatred burning in its gaze. Then the Clove-mutt yanks Cato's arm and he falls, screaming in pain, and landing with a sickening thud. All the mutts bark and tear into him. I can't tear my gaze away. Rue runs up to me, sobbing. I put my arms around her in a hug. We can't see anything except the mutts' fur. The canon goes off, the hovercraft once again flying down to pick up Cato's body-or what's left of it. After they pick up his body, the mutts disappear, and the night sky lifts.

Rue and I jump off the Cornucopia, shaking.

"We… we won!" Rue cries in disbelief.

She hugs me again. I return the hug, not quite believing this is all true.

_We won the Games!_

The microphone makes a screeching sound. Claudius Templesmith comes on.

"Ladies and gentlemen." he begins. "There-" A rustling noise interrupts him. I hear some voices muttering. I can't tell who it is. Then there's a defeated sigh. He comes on again, his voice sounding pained.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I announce the winners of the 74th Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen and Rue Bloomingfield!"

**How'd you guys like the long chapter? This is definitely the longest chapter I've written for this story. Rue's last name is one that I came up with in my story, Rue's Death. And there_ is_ one more chapter after this, kind of between an epilogue and a regular chapter. **

**R&R**

**~Bluestar4ever**


	11. Chapter 11

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I open my eyes, squinting against the harsh whiteness of the room. Puzzled, I gaze around, trying to figure out what happened. I glance to my right, where the beeping sound is, almost blaring in my ears. I suddenly remember everything; it all comes back to me in a flood of memories.

Standing on top of the Cornucopia, Cato grasping Rue in a headlock, suddenly crumpling to the ground with his arm dangling off the edge, the Clove-mutt dragging him off, the horrible sounds of flesh tearing, bones crunching, Rue and I announced the winners of the Games, a hovercraft flying down to get us, a Capitol woman sticking a needle into my arm, making me pass out…

Adjusted to the light, my eyes fully open, and I take it all in. I'm in a Capitol hospital-type room. Then I realize that the beeping sound has stopped; the room is eerily quiet. I sit up fast, then, banging my wrists against something, I flop back down. I look down to find that my wrists have been tied down to the bed. I sigh, wanting to check on Rue. Is she okay? What did they do to her? I start to worry, thinking about what might have happened, until the door bursts open, disrupting my thoughts, and a woman dressed in white comes in.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" she exclaims, rushing over to me. "You know, _everyone_ is talking about what happened during the Games. _Two _tributes winning? I just can't believe it! And for so long, it's always been one…"

"Rue!" I interrupt, my voice raspy from lack of use.

The woman looks at me blankly for a moment, then nods. She starts to ramble again. "Don't worry about her, she's fine. Haven't you've been listening to me? What have the Gamemakers been thinking, letting two win?" She pauses, taking a breath.

"Can I see her?" I ask impatiently, using my head to point to where my hands are tied.

She shakes her head. "No, you're still not recovered from your injuries. You've been unconscious for about four days and only now you just woke up. We had to tie your hands to the bed because you were thrashing around during your sleep. Oh, and we repaired your ear. It was pretty busted up, but we got it fixed!"

So that was why the beeping sounded so loud. I don't know what to say so I just nod my head. She murmurs to herself again about the Games while I fight to stay awake. My eyelids are drooping. The lady notices this and decides to leave the room. My body gives in, falling into another bout of sleep.

When I wake up again, a shadow looms over me.

"Nice to see you again sweetheart."

I look up at Haymitch, not sure if he's saying those words with sarcasm or not. I can't read his expression, but at least he seems to be sober. That's a first.

I blurt out the words without even thinking about them first. "You couldn't give him the medicine?!"

Haymitch chuckles darkly. "She finally wakes up and first thing she says isn't even a greeting."

I glare at him with murder in my eyes. He decides to ignore that.

"Sweetheart, I _tried_. I asked everybody that I could. But I just couldn't get it." Haymitch shakes his head sadly. "That's usually something the Capitol would have if they had a feast."

A feast. I didn't even think about that, truthfully. Some years they have one, other times not. Apparently the Capitol didn't think we needed one this time.

I just lay in my bed silently, waiting for Haymitch to continue speaking. He doesn't, and I know this wasn't what he came here to talk about.

"Why did you come here?" The words come out ruder than I intended them to.

Haymitch takes a breath before talking. "Look, comparing both of you, I thought you would have a better chance at winning. I focused on you-mostly. Peeta was okay when he joined the Careers," I flinch at his name, "so I didn't have to worry about him much, though I have to say, I thought it skeptical of those Careers to let him in their group. Anyway, when that District Two boy gave him that cut, I thought it was over for him. When you found him, I thought maybe there was hope. I tried to help him, but, well, like I said, I couldn't get enough sponsors. Oh, they believed the whole star-crossed lovers thing, but not enough to help him. Thus, the best I could do was soup."

I want to yell, scream, argue with him about the "best he could do". Surely he could've gotten something better, right? But I don't, I can't. The words stick in my throat, refusing to come out.

"It wasn't Seneca Crane's idea, about the "two tributes can win" proposal." He suddenly says. "Enobaria convinced him to do it."

I stare at Haymitch in shock. "_Who?_" I ask. I have no clue as to whom he's talking about.

"Enobaria. She was one of District Two's mentors. Apparently she thought that both of their tributes were too good enough to lose. I'll bet she trained both of them herself."

"Oh." I can't think of anything else to say, since I'm still a little surprised.

"Well, once they died, the Gamemakers were going to dispose that new rule change. But it was Chaff and I who convinced them to keep it." Haymitch tells me.

Why is he telling me this? My mentor just randomly comes in here, only to tell me some lie about trying to save Peeta and this news of how the rule change was enforced. Haymitch looks at me expectantly and I know he's waiting for me to speak. I say what he wants me to say: "How?" and, "Who's Chaff?"

"He's my drinking buddy; mentor for Eleven. We used to hang around during past years of the Games. But we were completely sober this year. I knew you had potential. And Rue, your little ally, turned out to have it too. We argued that they had already changed the rule, they couldn't just change it back. Of course, they didn't give in that easily. It took a few days, but everyone admired your friendship and sisterly relationship."

Those words, "sisterly relationship", hit me hard. For the first time since I woke up, I think of Prim. How she and my mother feel about me winning the Games. Rue and my promise to both of them was what kept me going. And I suddenly feel the urge to leap out of my hospital bed and run back to District 12 to see them. I know I can't do that though, so I just sit there, waiting.

Haymitch silently walks back toward the door. I want to yell at him to come back, to not just leave when he turns around. "I just thought you should know." With that, he turns back again and leaves my room.

"Tell me Katniss, what went through your mind when Marvel was about to throw his spear?" Caesar Flickerman asks me.

Rue and I are doing our interview with him like all the victors do. I glance down at my yellow dress, then at Rue in her light blue dress before answering.

"I had to kill him before he hurt Rue." I say truthfully. The crowd murmurs thoughtfully.

"Ah, yes, friends are very important, don't you think?" Caesar replies. People laugh at his comment. He turns to Rue. "Rue," he begins. "Why did you want Katniss as an ally?"

"She amazed me from the very beginning. I saw what she could do during training, but I was too scared to form an alliance. She seemed like one of the only tributes that I'd like to be friends with." Rue answers.

"That's very sweet." Caesar smiles. "Oh, we're out of time. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the victors of the 74th Hunger Games!"

The crowd claps as Rue and I stand up from our chairs and hold hands. They're still clapping as we walk off the stage. Guards come up on either side of us and guide us through the hall and lead us outside. Below, there are more people gathered than there were in the interview. President Snow is standing on the podium and next to him, on two tables, are two crowns.

A microphone is set up and President Snow taps into it. It makes its screeching sound, making everyone fall silent.

"I'd like all your undivided attention." he announces. "This is a very, very special year. There have been two victors. Districts of Panem, for the 74th Hunger Games, I present to you, Katniss Everdeen and Rue Bloomingfield, your victors!"

He walks over to one of the crowns, picks it up, and walks back to Rue. He gently places it on top of her head. Then President Snow goes over to the other crown and places it on my head. He steps aside, and the crowd cheers. Once again, I drop my left hand, and Rue puts her right in mine. Exchanging a look and smiling, we hold our hands up to the crowd, and they roar with excitement.

I lean down and whisper in her ear. "We'll be going back to our own districts now. Next year, we'll go on tour. I won't see you again until that. I'll always remember you Rue."

She looks at me with tears welling up in her eyes. "I know," she murmurs. "And I'll always remember you too Katniss."

**The End**

**A/N: I know I said this was supposed to be up in the beginning of the month, but things got crazy and I was super busy with soccer camp and practices every day. Then I sprained my foot, but its okay now. **

**I tried ending the story as close to the book and movie as possible with a few add-ons. Since my book is stuck at my grandpa's house, I couldn't use that as a reference as much as I did with the movie since I watched it two days ago. I think I remember Katniss being in a hospital in the book, but if it didn't happen, then that's okay too. I like the way I ended this and I hope you guys did too.**

**I want to say thank you to everyone who's been following this story since it all began about a half a year ago, and is still with me. And I want to thank everyone who's reviewed, alerted, and favorited this story. It means a lot to me :) And over 4,600 hits?! You guys are awesome! **

**Love ya!**

**~Bluestar4ver**


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